I think its really a case of doing it when you can - good thing about really early morning is that its over and done with and only 9-10am with the rest of the day left and running luchtimes was great as its someone elses time really! but i was pushing it with 16 mile lunchtime runs (2hrs) on some fridays

I'm expecting that all my pre Barcelona long runs will be done with the head torch on for at least 80% of the run! The main disadvantage of this is if it is warm during a spring marathon, because my long runs would have been done when it is a LOT cooler I tend to struggle a bit and have overheated before (notably London - the only marathon I've said "never again" in/to!!). I guess that may be a possibility with Barcelona though!?

John, this was something i was worried about in Rome last year when they said they might move the marathon to the afternoon! Luckily they did not but I understand your fears. Should be ok march though for a morning marathon in Barcelona

Thanks for that Wenty. I'm used to running my local one, which is normally 5 degrees centigrade max, gales, heavy rain and hail - Barcelona will be a different experience and, hopefully, a very enjoyable one

most people I know are looking around the start/finish (placa de espana) to stay. Booking.com have some great deals at the moment. Getting around on the metro is very easy and I'm planning to run a marathon soon with someone who has done Barcelona to pick their brains on where to stay/ what to see etc.

i ran the cologne half marathon today in a new pb of 1.47! Very happy with that and shows that my training is doing some good. Now - I need to see how Amsterdam goes next week!

Hi Roger, I also ran Chester (3:55) and also ran Barcelona last year 3:56), it's a fantastic course with amasing support all the way around the course.

Getting around is easy with a T10 metro ticket, you can buy from the airport train station for 10 euros and allows 10 trips on the metro, hence i wouldn't worry about trying to stop too close to the start / finish as the metro is easy to use and navigate (be careful of pick pockets). We stopped at Los Ramblas which was very very busy until the early hourse of the morning, so hardly slept the night before (it was also St Paddy's day)

Thinking of doing Barcelona again next March, just need to find some cheap flights

Thanks for the welcome guys. Emmy are you some kind of marathon globetrotting freak - and if so can you pay for me to join you! Best of British in Amsterdam.

Philip thanks for the advice about the pick pockets, I had seen something on the box about them recently. And congratulations on your Chester time, I was on course for around that time until the last few miles.

Roger - Nah, I do everything on the cheap. Stay with friends/bunk up to reduce accommodation cost etc. It's just lucky that i live on the continent so travelling over here is a lot easier (and cheaper)... beside that - I have no other vices. Don't smoke, dont really drink etc.

How did you find Chester?

I think you'll find pickpockets in every major city. Las Ramblas is known for it but there are other pockets around the top tourist destinations so it's always advised to be on the watch out. I feel a lot safer in Barcelona than in Paris.

I agree with Emmy, Barcelona is a very friendly city and the support on marathon day is fantastic. If you're after cheap accommodation check out the hostels (they're much better than you'd imagine)

Chester was a nice course, not too much support when you're out of Chester but the run into Chester along the river Dee was great, weather was hot which caught me out on the day so didn't hit my target time but has inspired me to do better next time.

Martin - I'm at Abo also on Sunday; won't be troubling the PB though. Will save that for Barca.

Just a word about the reliability of the 2.45 pacers at Barca though. When I followed them in 2010 until halfway, I felt they weren't going fast enough (we passed halfway in exactly 1.22.30, but I wanted a bit of a cushion). Stayed ahead of them all second half and naively assumed that if they didn't overtake me I'd be safely under. Bit of shock to see the clock counting down on my turn into the final straight and a sprint finish "only" got me 2.45.07. Pacers finished about 30 secs later.

In 2012, a friend co-incidentally finished in exactly the same time and said he never saw the pacers (they overtook me at 37k as I trailed in in 2.48 ). This year, the 2.45 pacers didn't even finish.

Emmy - Chester was fabulous, great scenery and brilliantly organised. I would recommend it to anyone and like Philip says it was a real scorcher of a day.

No tulips, canals and clogs for me on Sunday. I'm running the Great Brum Run - 13 miles round our beautiful, cultural, awe-inspiring second city! So instead of the odd windmill I will have to settle for the Bull Ring followed by a Balti.

I did 1 44 in Blackpool in March but I'll settle for breaking 1 50 as this I believe is somewhat tougher.

Previously bookmarked threads are now visible in "Followed Threads". You can also manage notifications on these threads from the "Forum Settings" section of your profile settings page to prevent being sent an email when a reply is made.

Runner's World is a publication of Hearst Magazines UK which is the trading name of The National Magazine Company Ltd, 72 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9EP. Registered in England 112955. All rights reserved. Runner's World, Part of the Hearst UK wellbeing network